10 Actors Who Were Totally Miscast In Recent Movies

Many were understandably excited when Christopher Walken was cast as the villainous Emperor Shaddam IV in Dune: Part Two, that such a statuesque acting legend would be portraying one of the most important characters in the epic sci-fi saga.

But then the movie came out, and Walken's performance proved majorly polarising with audiences, as many felt that his subdued work failed to translate the dangerous cunning of Shaddam from the source text. It just felt a bit flat, and the fact that Walken spoke in his typical Queens twang didn't much help either.

Some fans have defended Walken's lethargic turn as an intentional attempt to underline that the Emperor isn't really supposed to live up to the hype, but ultimately it felt more like Walken got driven to set, rattled his lines off for a take or two, and then went straight home.

Given the baggage that an actor as iconic as Walken brings with him to "serious" roles like this, Denis Villeneuve was probably better off casting an actor who the audience has a less set-in-stone perception of.